Julia Ruck holds an M.A. in German as a Foreign/Second Language from the University of Vienna and is currently finishing a Ph.D. in German Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). Her research interests focus on socio-cultural and discursive approaches to foreign-language teaching and learning, individual learner differences, teaching language and culture through audio-visual texts, and linguistic variation in German language-teaching. In her dissertation study she examines the interconnection of various aspects of learner personality and the comprehension of audio-visual texts among first-year learners of German.

Prior to joining WVPU, Julia Ruck taught German in Austria (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna), Russia (State Pedagogical University of Volgograd), Uruguay (Goethe Institut Uruguay), and the United States (University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Alongside her teaching and research activities, Ms. Ruck also works in international German teacher education on behalf of the Austrian Ministry of Education (program „Kultur und Sprache“), where she organizes seminars for international German teachers in Austria, attends and presents at conferences and events world-wide, and creates teaching materials. She is also a member of the „DACHL“ taskforce of the International German Teacher Association that deals with collaborations between Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein on issues regarding German-language teaching and learning.